ABC Baltimore Awards KGa-Baltimore With an Excellence in Construction Award

The KGa Baltimore Team Receives Highest Honor for Work on a Not-for-Profit Foundation Project in Baltimore

The ABC Baltimore Excellence in Construction Award recognizes exceptional project collaboration and craftsmanship completed by their members each year. This year, Kensington Glass Arts, Inc. was recognized at the highest level for their work in the Glass and Glazing category.

In 2017 KGa-Baltimore completed a project with general contractor, Southway Builders, for the renovation of a not for profit foundation in Baltimore, MD. The completion of the project was a carefully choreographed dance between all the trades due to a tight schedule and numerous high-end custom features with long lead times. KGa-Baltimore’s scope of work included five floors of interior glazing and storefront as well as specialty accent glass around the reception and elevator lobbies. Despite its initial challenges, the coordination and planning for the critical hold to dimensions around the millwork were recognized early in the project. The team successfully tackled these challenges and the outcome was deemed to be award-winning by ABC Baltimore.

The time constraints of the schedule was only one of several challenges the team faced on this project. As the project progressed, it was discovered that most of the existing building openings were neither plumb nor square with any consistency. This required heightened detailing and dimensioning by the KGa-Baltimore team. Tight dimensional coordination between KGa-Baltimore and the other trades on site was required to keep production moving forward and avoid lead time issues on the schedule. Additionally, numerous glass office front openings were encased in custom millwork that had long lead times for production. To address this challenge, KGa-Baltimore worked closely with the custom millwork company to develop a mock-up template as a control tool allowing for production to remain on schedule.

To enhance the existing building entrance, KGa-Baltimore reworked the existing storefront system. The KGa-Baltimore team succeeded in the challenge of adding new work to blend seamlessly with the existing storefront in place. The team then fabricated and installed new low iron doors and sidelites in various locations throughout the building including the vestibule, cafe and conference rooms.

The close coordination between Southway Builders, the other trades and KGa-Baltimore’s project team allowed them to identify and resolve any possible issues or conflicts before they became critical. The transformation of the original interior space into a light and open working environment was dramatic and beautiful. Kensington Glass Arts, Inc. is proud of the KGa-Baltimore team for their exceptional work in completing this project. Congratulations!

Check out the interview Project Manager Jeremiah Gillin did with ABC Baltimore about the project & photos of the completed project below.